Albion assessed
Brighton is a hilly place but our football and indeed the whole club is flat. I largely blame Sami Hyppia for this. Whilst it is true we have sold our best players you expect a manager to build a team which he has failed to do – notably in the striker department. We have now gone 9 games wihout a win and the football is dire. Yesterday we lost our lead to Rotherham – the goal inevitably scored by a defender Joe Bennett – and are now perilously close to the relegation zone. Even Alan Tanner’s Fulham is above us, as he was quick to remind me. Tactically, aside from the biggest problem of having ony one goal scored by a forward all season, we use attacking fullbacks which leaves our wide areas too exposed in defence. Any team with good wingers can wreak havoc. As a manager, judging from his progamme notes and comments in the Argus, Hyppa is not the most emotional or passionate. He tells us he is ambitious, does not fear for his job and is trying to get his ideas across – all of which I find unconvincing. Next Wednesday we travel to the Spurs in the Capital Cup. If Spurs field their strongest side, which teams in the Premier rarely do, they could really embarrass us, the more so as the one of our most consistent players – Gordon Greer in central defence – had a nightmare of a second half. Keeper Stockdale, who pulled off some fine saves, will have a busy night.
As I left the Overline lounge I saw our chariman Tony Bloom descend the stairs. One fan rubbished the performance, which the chairman agreed was ” not good”, to which the fan replied “Time to pull the trigger,Tony”. I have to say I agree. When I mentioned this to Alan Ttanner he responded “Felix Magath is looking for a job.”
